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Concerning  Book  Plates 


THEODORE  W.  KOCH 


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Concerning  Book  Plates 


THEODORE  W.  KOCH 


Preprinted  from 

BlBLIOGSAfHICAL  SOCIETY  OF  AMERICA — PaPEM,  Vol.  DC,  NoS.  1-2,  I9IS 


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CONCERNING  BOOK  PLATES 

BY  THEODORE  W.  KOCH 
Librarian,  University  of  Michigan 

A  BOOK  plate  has  been  described  as  a  name  plate 
**■  decorated,  not  a  decoration  defaced  by  a  name  plate. 
The  essential  point  is  that  it  is  a  name-label,  a  means  of 
identification  for  lost,  strayed,  or  stolen  volumes.  Con- 
sequently anonymous  book  plates  are  anomalous.  This 
name-label  may  be  printed  or  engraved  and  the  name 
may  be  expressed  heraldically  or  otherwise,  but  its  prime 
object  is,  or  was,  when  pasted  inside  the  covers  of  a  book 
or  added  to  its  title  or  fly-leaves,  to  proclaim  the  owner- 
ship of  the  book. 

The  origin  of  the  book  plate  is  found  in  the  desire  of  the 
owner  of  a  book  to  retain  possession  of  his  property. 
Many  estimable  people  find  a  difficulty  in  distinguishing 
between  mine  and  thine  in  books  as  well  as  in  umbrellas. 
Therefore,  both  should  be  marked  for  identification. 

Books  in  the  early  libraries  were  chained.  When  they 
became  cheaper  and  multiplied  rapidly,  the  chains  were 
done  away  with,  but  marks  of  ownership  were  placed 
either  inside  the  covers  or  on  the  covers  of  books  to 
prevent  their  straying.  The  marks  of  ownership  on  the 
covers  usually  consisted  of  monograms  or  coats-of-arms 
done  in  gold  on  the  leather  sides,  and  there  are  many 
ornate  bindings  in  which  such  devices,  called  super 
libros,  have  been  most  attractively  tooled.    As  books 


306997 


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in  the  early  libraries  were  laid  flat  on  their  sides,  these 
devices  showed  up  most  efifectively. 

The  book  plate,  like  the  printed  book,  had  its  origin 
in  Germany.  Both  date  from  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth 
century.  Albrecht .  Diirer  is  known  actually  to  have 
engraved  six  plates  between  1503  and  15 16,  and  to  have 
made  designs  for  many  others.  Most  of  the  larger  and 
more  wealthy  monasteries  used  more  than  one  plate. 
The  advent  of  each  new  lord  abbot  was  celebrated  by  the 
creation  of  a  new  plate  for  the  library.  With  indi- 
viduals it  grew  out  of  the  various  armorial  bearings  of 
the  family.  Frederick  August,  duke  of  Brunswick-6ls, 
had,  in  1789,  sixteen  plates.  More  recently,  Count 
Leiningen-Westerburg  had  twenty-one  plates,  all  in  use, 
and  the  Countess  had  eight  for  her  own  use.  I  have  no 
data  as  to  the  size  of  the  family  library.  The  Count 
was  an  authority  on  the  subject  of  book  plates,  had 
written  a  book  on  German  ex-libris,  and  many  of  the 
twenty-nine  different  plates  used  by  him  and  his  wife 
were  complimentary  plates  from  well-known  artists. 

A  book  plate  is  in  no  sense  a  part  of  the  book.  Its 
removal  can  be  ordinarily  effected  without  harming  the 
book  in  any  way.  Many  book  plates  are  removed  in 
order  to  give  place  to  the  new  owner's  plate,  or  to  add  to 
the  collector's  store.  The  ethics  of  this  procedure  has 
been  questioned.  It  must  be  granted  that  there  are  cases 
when  it  would  be  almost  an  act  of  vandalism  to  remove 
a  book  plate,  as  in  the  case  of  a  certain  copy  of  the  first 
edition  of  Pope's  Dunciad,  1729,  well  preserved  in  the 


« 


^ 


Concerning  Book  Plates 


original  binding,  with  the  Chippendale  book  plate  of 
David  Hume,  above  which  is  the  autograph  signature 
of  John  Home,  the  oldest  friend  and  executor  of  Hume. 
Remove  the  historian's  book  plate  and  the  chain  of  asso- 
ciation linking  Pope,  Hume,  and  Home  is  broken.  A 
collector  who  would  remove  a  coat-of-arms  stamped  in 
gold  on  the  leather  or  vellum  binding  of  a  fine  old  book 
has  been  compared  to  the  miser  depicted  by  Hogarth 
in  the  act  of  cutting  from  the  cover  of  the  family  Bible 
a  piece  of  leather  with  which  to  mend  his  shoe.  Book 
plates  have  not  always  been  regarded  as  giving  added 
value  to  the  books  they  adorn.  A  writer  in  1757,  in 
speaking  of  a  library  ofifered  for  sale,  says:  "The  books 
are  in  good  order,  and  are  little  the  worse  for  use,  and  have 
no  arms  in  the  best  of  them." 

Book  plates,  being  intended  to  go  into  books,  must 
appeal  to  book-lovers  and  will  continue  to  interest  those 
who  like  fine  books  well  bound  and  properly  cared  for. 
The  man  who  is  insensible  to  the  influence  of  a  good  book 
plate  is  probably  insensible  to  the  claims  of  good  printing, 
the  beauty  of  good  book-making,  and  all  the  seductions 
to  which  the  bibliophile  yields  himself.  Putting  a  har- 
moniously designed,  well-executed  plate  into  a  book 
shows  that  the  owner  thinks  enough  of  it  to  treat  it  with 
respect.  "I  urge  upon  all  lovers  of  books  to  provide 
themselves  with  book  plates,"  said  Eugene  Field. 
"Whenever  I  see  a  book  that  bears  its  owner's  plate,  I 
feel  myself  obligated  to  treat  that  book  with  special 
consideration.     It   carries   with   it   a   certificate   of   its 


Bibliographical  Society  of  America 


master's  love;  the  book  plate  gives  the  volume  a  certain 
status  it  would  not  otherwise  have." 

Miss  Agnes  Repplier  says  that  when  she  was  a  girl  she 
had  access  to  a  small  and  well-chosen  library,  each  volume 
of  which  was  provided  with  a  book  plate  containing  a 
scaly  dragon  guarding  the  apples  of  Hesperides,  and  the 
motto  "Honor  and  obligation  demand  the  prompt 
return  of  borrowed  books."  These  words,  she  con- 
tinues, ate  into  her  innocent  soul  and  lent  a  pang  to  the 
sweetness  of  possession.  Doubts  as  to  the  exact  nature 
of  "prompt  return"  made  her  painfully  uncertain  as 
to  whether  a  month,  a  week,  or  a  day  was  the  limit  which 
honor  and  obligation  had  set  for  her.  Other  and  older 
borrowers  were,  however,  less  sensitive  and,  books  being 
a  rarity  in  that  little  southern  town,  most  of  the  volumes 
were  eventually  absorbed  by  the  gaping  shelves  of 
neighbors,  where  perhaps  some  may  still  be  found, 
"forgotten  in  dark  and  dusty  corners,  like  gems  that 
magpies  hide." 

"Some  people  have  an  instinctive  aversion  to  anything 
plated,"  said  a  recent  writer  in  the  Contributors'  Club 
of  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  adding  that  he  disliked  plated 
books.  He  saw  no  apology  for  the  person  addicted  to  the 
substitution  of  a  book  plate  for  his  genuine  signature 
and  was  sure  that  no  man  with  poetry  in  his  soul  would 
use  a  plate  to  record  his  ownership  of  a  volume.  "To 
establish  that  immortal  communication  between  author 
and  reader,  that  sense  of  intimate  personal  relation," 
said  he,  "  the  reader  must  not  refuse  the  author  his  hand^ 


Concerning  Book  Plates 


and  try  to  meet  him,  as  it  were,  by  proxy."  "A  book 
plate,"  in  the  mind  of  this  critic,  "indicates  a  certain 
love  of  ostentation.  Is  it  fitting,"  he  asks,  "that  an 
individual  should  suggest  that  his  library  is  so  volumi- 
nous that  he  cannot  undertake  the  physical  fatigue  of 
writing  his  name  in  each  book  he  possesses?  Public 
Hbraries,  large  and  abstract  collections,  may  make  use 
of  this  mechanical  means  of  identifying  property,  but 
the  private  library  should  be  more  modest,  more 
personal." 

The  defender  of  the  book  plate  will  answer  that  there 
is  a  decided  objection  to  having  names  written  into  books, 
especially  modem  books,  where  the  ink  is  almost  sure  to 
run  and  produce  a  blurred  result.  An  autograph  is 
usually  inconspicuous  and,  with  poor  penmanship,  it 
is  ineffective.  Unless  it  be  in  ink  on  the  title-page,  it  is 
more  easily  removed  than  the  book  plate.  The  latter  is 
the  silent  witness  against  the  book  thief.  "To  have  a 
book  plate,"  says  Edmund  Gosse,  "gives  a  collector  great 
serenity  and  confidence."  A  book  plate  not  only  testi- 
fies to  the  owner's  appreciation  of  his  books,  but,  if  of 
his  own  choosing,  also  reflects  something  of  his  character. 
A  good  book  plate  gives  also  a  certain  unity  to  what 
might  otherwise  be  a  very  miscellaneous  library. 

The  use  of  coats-of-arms  as  an  indication  of  ownership 
was  very  common  in  bygone  days.  Arms  were  cut  in 
stone  on  the  front  of  a  house  to  indicate  the  family  name 
of  the  owners,  carved  in  furniture,  woven  in  hangings, 
or  engraved  on  the  family  silver,  to  carry  out  the  same 


Bibliographical  Society  of  America 


idea  within  the  house,  or  emblazoned  on  the  family- 
carriage  to  declare  to  the  world  at  large  who  it  was  that 
was  going  forth  on  one  errand  or  another.  Originally 
the  arms  would  not  have  the  name  appended.  When 
a  knowledge  of  heraldry  was  widespread  the  addition  of 
the  name  to  a  coat-of-arms  was  unnecessary.  The  arms 
were  as  well  known  as  the  family  name;  ill  fact,  it  was  the 
name  heraldically  expressed.  Many  retainers  who  could 
not  read  could  easily  recognize  the  family  coat-of-arms. 
So,  in  the  earliest  armorial  book  plates,  the  arms  alone 
were  engraved.  The  names  appear  only  in  the  later 
plates.  '  v  . 

In  the  simple  armorial  plates,  up  to  about  1720,  the 
shield  is  surmounted  by  a  helmet  on  which  are  the  wreath 
'and  crest.  With  the  decay  of  J^eraldry,  more  and  more 
attention  was  paid  to  the  ornamentation  or  mantling 
and  eventually  the  heraldic  interest  became  of  very  minor 
importance. 

Some  collectors  limit  their  attention  to  armorial  plates, 
as  others  limit  their  interests  to  those  of  other  periods, 
or  to  those  by  special  designers.  Armorial  plates  are 
in  questionable  taste  for  most  American  families.  The 
use  of  them  reminds  one  of  a  question  put  to  a  certain 
gentleman  who  had  assumed  what  appeared  to  be  a 
veritable  coat-of-arms.  "Are  those  really  your  arms?" 
he  was  asked.  "They  ought  to  be,"  was  the  reply, 
"for  I  made  them  myself." 

I  know  of  librarians  who  scoff  at  the  idea  of  a  book 
plate,  and  many  people  smile  at  those  who  take  a  serious 


Concerning  Book  Plates 


interest  in  collecting  book  plates.  A  writer  in  the  London 
Daily  News  stirred  up  a  "tempest  in  a  tea-pot"  some 
twenty  years  ago  by  an  article  entitled  "The  Burden  of 
Book  Plates."  "Let  infancy  froUc  and  senile  fatuity 
count  its  two-penny  treasures,"  said  this  scribe,  "but 
why,  of  all  things,  collect  book  plates?  Are  there  not 
door-knockers  which  a  man  may  collect,  or  visiting  cards 
of  all  ages,  or  muflSn  bells,  or  old  books,  or  political  walk- 
ing sticks,  or  the  decayed  hairbrushes  of  celebrities,  all 
of  which  are  instructive  and  amusing,  compared  to  book 
plates?"  Mr.  Hardy  writes  about  the  propriety  of 
reinoving  book  plates  from  books  "for  the  purpose  of 
study  and  comparison."  "Study  ^nd  comparison  of 
warming  pans !  Even  an  old  warming  pan  is  an  enviable 
piece  of  portable  property  compared  with  a  book  plate. 
....  It  seems  about  as  agreeable  a  possession  as  an 
old  postage  stamp."  Well,  we  know  of  those  who  put 
a  great  deal  of  time,  money,  and  enthusiasm  into  the 
collecting  of  postage  stamps  and  dignify  their  hobby  by 
calling  it  philately.  The  collector  of  ex-libris  is  not  to 
be  lightly  put  aside.  He  is  only  one  kind  of  a  biblio- 
phile. Anyone  with  a  hobby  is  to  be  envied,  not  de- 
rided. "Here  lies  Smith,  who  was  nothing,  not  even  a 
collector  of  postage  stamps,"  would  not  be  the  epitaph 
of  a  cheerful  man. 

The  size  of  a  collector's  library,  it  must  be  confessed, 
is  usually  in  inverse  ratio  to  the  number  of  personal  plates 
which  he  owns.  An  amateur  with  too  many  individual 
plates  is  to  be  looked  upon  with  suspicion.    "A  fool  and 


lo  Bibliographical  Society  of  America 

his  book  plate  are  soon  parted,"  said  Thomas  Bailey 
Aldrich,  in  characterizing  those  who  have  a  book  plate 
primarily  for  purposes  of  exchange  with  other  collectors. 
There  are  collectors  who  have  had  new  plates  made  or  new 
impressions  of  old  plates  struck  off  on  a  different  colored 
paper,  expressly  for  the  purpose  of  adding  another  plate 
to  their  exchange  list.  They  resemble  the  Central  and 
South  American  principalities  which  have  new  issues  of 
postage  stamps  struck  off  every  little  while,  seemingly 
for  the  purposes  of  revenue  through  their  sale  to  collectors. 
It  is  this  class  of  collectors  who  have  brought  down  some 
of  the  more  severe  criticisms  upon  the  whole  subject  of 
ex-libris  collecting. 

Then,  too,  there  have  been  unprincipled  dealers  who 
have  attached  ex-libris  (generally  counterfeits  or  reprints) 
to  inferior  volumes  in  order  to  promote  their  sale.  The 
plate  of  George  Washington  is  thus  far  the  only  American 
one  thought  worthy  of  counterfeiting.  Some  years  ago 
a  number  of  volumes  purporting  to  have  come  from 
Washington's  library  were  offered  for  sale  at  auction. 
They  all  had  what  claimed  to  be  his  book  plate,  but  a 
comparison  of  it  with  the  original  showed  it  to  be  clearly 
a  forgery.  The  purpose  of  the  forger  was  defeated  by 
the  cheat  being  cried  out  in  the  auction  room. 

The  natural  desire  to  protect  his  own  book  property 
is  seen  in  the  schoolboy,  who  is  given  to  writing  the 
simplest  form  of  an  ex-libris  on  the  fly-leaf  of  his  text- 
book: "Bill  Jones,  his  book."  This  plain  statement  of 
fact  is  elaborated  into  a  variety  of  forms.    The  following 


Concerning  Book  Plates  ii 

is  copied  from  an  old  schoolbook  found  in  Canterbury, 
England: 

This  book  is  mine 

By  right  divine 

And  if  so  be,  it  go  astray 

Please  be  so  kind 

My  desk  to  find 

And  stow  it  safe  away. 

Schoolboys  in  old  England  were  fond  of  inscribing  in 
their  books  these  verses : 

Steale  not  this  book  for  fear  of  shame 
For  here  you  see  ye  owner  hys  name 
And  when  you  dye  ye  Lord  will  sa;^ 
Where  is  that  boke  you  stole  away  ? 
Then  if  you  saye,  you  cannot  telle, 
Ye  Lorde  will  saye,  then  go  to  helle. 

Variant  forms  of  versified  prophecies  of  what  will 
happen  to  the  book  thief  are  quite  plentiful.  The  follow- 
ing was  at  one  time  popular  with  youths  fond  of  scribbling 
over  the  fly-leaves  of  their  books: 

My  Master's  name  above  you  see. 
Take  heede  ther  fore  you  steale  not  mee; 
For  if  you  doe,  without  delay 
Your  necke  for  me  shall  pay. 
Looke  doune  below  and  you  shal  see 
The  picture  of  the  gallowstree; 
Take  heede  ther  fore  of  thys  in  time, 
Lest  on  this  tree  you  highly  clime. 


12  Bibliographical  Society  of  America 

Another  doggerel  manuscript  ex-libris  used  to  be  made 
up  in  this  fashion: 

THIS  BOOK 
Belongs  to 
John  Doe 

If  thou  art  borrowed  by  a  friend, 

Right  welcome  shall  he  be 
To  read,  to  study,  not  to  lend, 

But  to  return  to  me. 

Not  that  imparted  knowledge  doth 

Diminish  learning's  store; 
But  books,  I  find,  if  often  lent, 

Return  to  me  no  more. 

Sometimes  there  was  appended  the  following  advice 
and  caution: 

Read  slowly,  pause  frequently, 

Think  seriously. 
Keep  cleanly,  return  duly. 
With  the  corners  of  the  leaves  not  turned  down. 

Some  book-owners  have  gone  to  Scripture  for  their 
book-plate  inscriptions.  Mr.  George  N.  Noyes  uses  the 
following:  "And  if  a  man  borrow  aught  of  his  neighbor 
and  it  is  hurt  he  shall  surely  make  it  good"  (Exod.  22 :  14). 
An  apprentice's  library  has  used  the  following:  "Take 
fast  hold  of  instruction,  let  her  not  go;  keep  her,  for  she 
is  thy  life"  (Prov.  4:13). 

There  is  a  wide  range  from  the  generous  and 
dignified  legend  on  the  plate  of  Grolier  "Jo.  Grolierii 


Concerning  Book  Plates  13 

et  Amicorum"  (the  property  of  John  Grolier  and  his 
friends)  to  such  as: 

I'm  stingy  grown 
What's  mine's  my  own. 

An  anonymous  plate  has:  "This  book  was  bought  at 
the  sign  of  the  Shakespeare  Head.  Borrowing  neighbors 
are  recommended  to  supply  themselves  in  the  same 
manner." 

Dr.  Holmes  once  said  mottoes  should  be  given  in  pairs 
so  that  one  might  ofifset  the  other.  I  therefore  give  the 
following  as  an  antidote  to  the  last  quoted: 

I'm  not  one  of  those  selfish  elves 
Who  keep  their  treasures  to  themselves. 
I  like  to  see  them  kept  quite  neat, 
But  not  for  moth  or  worm  to  eat. 
Thus  willingly  to  any  friend 
A  book  of  mine  I'll  freely  lend 
Hoping  they'll  mind  this  good  old  mean, 
Return  it  soon  and  keep  it  clean. 

We  have  seen  that  the  use  of  a  book  plate  is  no  modern 
fad,  though  the  collecting  of  the  book  plates  is  of  com- 
paratively recent  origin.  Various  interests  center  around 
book  plates.     These  might  be  listed  as  follows: 

I.  The  personal  interest. — ^This  would  be  called  forth 
by  the  plates  of  such  men  as  George  Washington, 
William  Penn,  Gladstone,  Gambetta,  Horace  Walpole, 
Samuel  Pepys,  David  Garrick,  Hogarth,  Sir  Henry  Irving, 


14  Bibliographical  Society  of  America 

all  of  whom  used  book  plates  which  have  been  reproduced 
in  the  literature  of  the  subject. 

2.  The  genealogical  interest. — This  is  exemplified  par- 
ticularly in  the  sequence  of  plates  belonging  to  old  fam- 
ilies given  to  book-collecting  for  several  generations. 

3.  The  heraldic  interest. — Heraldry  is  a  conspicuous 
element  in  the  older  plates,  the  majority  of  which  are  of 
armorial  design.  In  no  way  can  one  get  a  better  or  more 
comprehensive  survey  of  the  changes  in  heraldic  design. 

4.  The  historical  interest. — Something  of  the  history 
of  engraving  and  the  arts  of  illustration  is  sure  to  be 
imbibed  by  those  who  dip  into  the  history  of  book  plates. 
Even  if  one  only  learns  to  distinguish  between  a  copper 
plate  and  a  steel  engraving,  an  etching  and  a  zinc  plate, 
he  has  acquired  valuable  information.  When  he  is  able 
to  distinguish  between  a  Jacobean  and  a  Chippendale 
plate,  he  has  made  a  considerable  advance.  Before  long 
the  amateur  is  able  to  judge  of  the  approximate  date  of  a 
plate  and  to  characterize  its  style  in  proper  fashion.  A 
dated  plate  may  help  to  give  definite  information  in  regard 
to  the  history  of  a  particular  style  of  engraving  or  design, 
or  otherwise  throw  light  on  the  book  it  adorns. 

5.  Artistic  interest. — Diirer,  Holbein,  Lucas  Cranach 
the  younger,  Piranesi,  Bartolozzi,  Hogarth,  and  Bewick, 
among  the  old  engravers,  did  not  think  the  designing  of 
book  plates  beneath  their  dignity.  Among  modern 
artists  of  note  who  have  designed  book  plates,  mention 
may  be  made  of  Sir  Frederick  Leighton,  Sir  John  Millais, 
Aubrey  Beardsley,  Edwin  A.  Abbey,  Miss  Kate  Greena- 


Concerning  Book  Plates  15 

way,  Walter  Crane,  Louis  Rhead,  and  Randolph  Calde- 
cott.  These  names  should  sufl5ce  to  arrest  the  attention 
of  the  carping  critic,  if  only  long  enough  to  see  how  these 
artists  have  handled  the  problem.  Many  plates  by  artists 
of  no  great  note  are  worthy  of  study  on  account  of  the 
beauty  of  design  or  artistic  workmanship. 

In  1880  there  appeared  A  Guide  to  the  Study  of  Book 
Plates,  by  the  Hon.  J.  Leicester  Warren,  who  later  became 
Lord  de  Tabley.  In  classifying  book  plates  he  divided 
them  into  broad  classes,  such  as  Jacobean,  Chippendale, 
allegorical,  and  the  like.  His  classification  has  been 
accepted  by  later  writers  and  is  now  so  generally  followed 
that  we  must  pause  for  a  moment  to  study  it. 

The  term  Jacobean,  as  applied  to  a  book  plate,  is  some- 
what misleading,  but  it  is  understood  to  mean  the  heavy 
decorative  style  in  vogue  during  the  Restoration,  Queen 
Anne,  and  early  Georgian  days.  This  style  was  in  vogue 
approximately  from  1700  to  1750.  The  book  plate  had 
by  that  time  become  a  recognized  essential  in  a  well- 
ordered  private  or  public  library.  The  plates  of  the 
period  are  armorial  in  type,  the  decoration  is  limited  to 
a  symmetrical  grouping  of  the  mantling  and  an  occasional 
display  of  palms  and  wreaths.  The  mantling  surrounds 
the  face  of  the  shield  as  the  periwig  of  the  portraits  of 
the  period  surrounds  the  face  of  the  subject.  It  springs 
from  either  side  of  the  helmet  into  elaborate  patterns. 
The  manner  had  been  imported  from  France  but  soon 
assimied  EngUsh  characteristics  of  its  own.  The  decora- 
tion was  conventional,  remarkable  for  its  soUdity  rather 


1 6  Bibliographical  Society  of  America 

than  its  gracefulness.  The  design  was  strictly  sym- 
metrical, massive,  and  imposing  from  its  heaviness.  The 
plates  of  the  period  have  a  carved  appearance. 

During  the  middle  third  of  the  eighteenth  century  a 
flamboyant  rococo  style  of  engraving  was  in  vogue  which 
was  named  Chippendale,  after  the  designer  of  furniture, 
many  of  the  patterns  in  his  books  being  reflected  in  the 
book  plates  of  the  period.  The  distinguishing  feature  of 
the  Chippendale  book  plate  is  a  fanciful  arrangement  of 
scroll  and  shellwork  with  acanthus-like  sprays.  The 
grouping  was  usually  unsymmetrical  so  as  to  give  a  freer 
scope  for  a  great  variety  of  counter-curves.  Straight 
and  concentric  lines  were  avoided.  The  Chippendale 
plates  are  lacking  in  variety  of  design.  The  type  was 
in  vogue  only  for  a  score  of  years,  but  during  that  time 
it  was  the  fashion  in  copper-plate  engraving  generally. 
The  characteristic  of  the  style  is  the  frilled  border  of  open 
scallop  shellwork  set  close  to  the  escutcheon,  and  more 
or  less  inclosing  it.  George  Washington's  plate  is  a  good 
example  of  the  Chippendale  style. 

The  similarity  of  the  Chippendale  patterns  reminds 
one  of  the  story  of  the  traveling  artist  who  was  employed 
by  an  innkeeper  to  paint  a  blue  boar  for  a  sign.  "I'll 
try  the  boar,"  said  the  man,  "but  I  have  never  painted 
anything  else  than  a  red  lion,  and  so  don't  be  surprised 
if  your  blue  boar  turns  into  a  red  lion  when  I've  done." 
It  seems  equally  impossible  for  the  designer  of  a  par- 
ticular period  to  get  away  from  the  characteristics  of 
that  period. 


Concerning  Book  Plates  17 

During  the  latter  third  of  the  eighteenth  century,  new 
styles  were  adopted  by  the  engravers.  Among  these 
mention  may  be  made  of  the  simple  and  chaste  design 
known  as  the  ribbon  and  wreath  style.  Originahty  began 
to  assert  itself  and  a  great  variety  of  motifs  appeared — 
pastoral  scenes,  landscape  effects,  pictorial  compositions, 
and  library  interiors  of  all  kinds.  When  steel  engraving 
came  into  use  in  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
it  had  the  effect  of  continuing  the  formahty  of  the  previous 
century.  It  was  also  used  later  in  connection  with  the 
copper-plate  designing,  by  furnishing  the  plate-maker 
with  a  harder  surface  with  which  to  cover  the  copper. 
With  the  development  of  photo-mechanical  processes  in 
the  latter  half  of  the  century  came  greater  freedom 
and  ease  in  the  reproduction  of  the  original  sketch. 
Etching  had  not  only  rivaled  copper-plate  engraving, 
but  had  come  to  be  used  with  it.  Photo-engraving,  or 
the  half-tone  process,  is  hardly  a  legitimate  means  of 
reproducing  a  book-plate  design.  While  it  is  the  most 
common  method  of  reproducing  a  photograph  or  wash 
drawing,  neither  of  these  media  furnishes  satisfactory 
designs  for  book  plates,  although  they  have  sonletimes 
been  used  fairly  satisfactorily  in  connection  with  line 
work.  Line  work  is  the  basis  of  ninety-nine  out  of 
every  hundred  book  plates,  whether  done  on  copper, 
steel,  or  zinc. 

The  success  of  an  engraved  plate  depends,  not  only 
on  the  skill  of  the  designer,  but  also  upon  that  of  the 
engraver.     In  the  case  of  such  men  as  C.  W.  Sherborn, 


1 8  Bibliographical  Society  of  America 

E.  D.  French,  and  J.  W.  Spenceley,  both  the  design  and 
execution  were  done  by  themselves  or  under  their  close 
supervision.  This  brings  engraved  plates  by  men  of  note 
up  to  a  high  cost.  Consequently  recourse  is  had  to 
cheaper  methods  of  reproduction,  and  the  one  most  in 
vogue  is  the  zinc  cut.  The  danger  of  this  lies  in  its  cheap- 
ness. For  a  doUar  or  two  one  can  have  reproduced  an 
india-ink  sketch  by  an  amateur  designer,  and  as  there 
are  manv  people  with  a  cert-^m  amount  of  skill  in  pen-and- 
iiik  drawing  who  are  quite  willing  to  present  their  friends 
with  what  they  think  are  appropriate  designs  for  book 
plates,  there  are  a  great  many  inside  covers  of  books  being 
plastered  over  with  cheap  zinc  cuts  from  cheap  designs 
that  had  better  not  have  been  perpetuated  through  this 
or  any  other  process. 

Anyone  who  owns  a  book  plate  is  likely  to  be  interested 
in  the  subject.  So  also  is  the  person  who  hopes  some  day 
to  have  his  or  her  own  book  plate.  The  latter  may  wel- 
come a  few  suggestions.  A  book  plate  ought  not,  accord- 
ing to  all  precedent  and  the  canons  of  good  taste,  to  try  to 
rival  a  poster,  or  a  book-wrapper,  or  ornate  end  papers. 
It  ought  not  to  be  much  larger  than  two  by  three  inches. 
It  should  be  small  enough  to  go  easily  on  the  inside  of  the 
cover  of  any  volume  without  crowding.  Japan  vellum 
or  plate  paper  are  good  papers  on  which  to  print  plates. 
Too  thick  a  paper  is  difficult  to  paste  down.  Do  not 
have  the  plates  gummed.  The  name"  should  be  clearly 
drawn,  not  in  hieroglyphics,  and  should  not  be  run  in 
on  the  bias,  nor  in  any  fanciful  way. 


Concerning  Book  Plates  19 

The  motif  should  be  appropriate  to  the  general  run  of 
books  the  plate  is  to  adorn.  A  jester  is  permissible  in 
the  ex-libris  of  a  comedian  like  Francis  Wilson,  but  would 
hardly  be  suitable  for  a  philosophical  library.  Humorous 
plates  are  in  general  to  be  avoided.  The  humor  will  be 
sure  to  pall  upon  you  and  your  friends.  Designers  are 
often  called  upon  to  do  things  against  their  best  judgment. 
One  designer  was  asked  by  a  patron  of  considerable 
avoirdupois  to  include  in  the  plate  he  had  ordered  the 
representation  of  an  elephant,  as  that  was  the  nickname 
by  which  he  was  known  among  his  friends.  Another 
wanted  "a  girl,  with  sandals  on,  standing  by  the  sea, 
over  which  the  moonlight  was  streaming;  bulrushes  or 
something  in  the  foreground.  And,"  he  added,  "give 
me  plenty  of  moonlight." 

Portrait  plates  are  not  at  all  common.  Most  of  those 
that  have  been  made  date  from  the  latter  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  Diirer's  friend,  Bilibald  Pirkheimer, 
is  known  to  have  had  a  plate  of  this  kind  which  he  pasted 
on  the  back  covers  of  his  books.  Good  old  Bishop  John 
Hacket,  of  Lichfield,  presented  a  number  of  books  to 
Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  in  each  of  which  was 
pasted  his  portrait  and  the  motto  "Serve  God  and 
be  cheerful." 

The  tendency  to  overload  a  plate  with  details  with  a 
view  to  suggesting  the  procUvities  of  the  owner  is  to  be 
decried.  As  Mr.  Charles  Dexter  Allen  says,  "One  some- 
times sees  a  plate  that  has  so  much  of  the  life-history  of 
the  owner  within  its  small  compass  that  at  a  glance  it  is 


20  Bibliographical  Society  of  America 

evident  to  all  that  he  glories  in  golf,  has  a  regard  for 
roses,  rides  a  wheel,  esteems  Omar  Khayyam  very  highly, 
reads  Scott  and  Lowell,  can  quote  Shakespeare,  has  been 
to  Switzerland,  collects  butterflies,  and  lives  in  New 
Jersey." 


14  DAY  USE 


FE 


I 


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